The Best of 2010 - The Albums

15. The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up

14. Black Label Society - Order of the Black

13. Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare

12. Bad Religion - The Dissent of Man

11. Joe Bonamassa - Black Rock

10. Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow

9. Jimmy Eat World - Invented

8. Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man

7. Iron Maiden - The Final Frontier

6. Slash - Slash

5. Reckless Love - Reckless Love

4. Courtney Marie Andrews - For One I Knew

3. Stone Sour - Audio Secrecy

2. Black Country Communion - Black Country

1. Shooter Jennings and Hierophant - Black Ribbons

The Best of 2010 - The Songs

15. B.o.B featuring Rivers Cuomo - Magic

14. Eminem featuring Lil Wayne - No Love

13. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

12. Jimmy Eat World - Action Needs and Audience

11. Rumer - Slow

10. My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)

9. Weezer - Memories

8. The Like - Release Me

7. Linkin Park - The Catalyst

6. Black Country Communion - "Song of Yesterday"

5. Reckless Love - Back to Paradise

4. Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner - Written in the Stars

3. Missing Andy - Sing For the Deaf

2. Pulled Apart by Horses - Back to the Fuck Yeah

1. The Vaccines - Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)

The Best of 2010 - Number 8

Albums of the Year

8. Manic Street preachers - "Postcards From A Young Man"

James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire heralded the Manics' tenth studio album as "one last shot at mass communication". With appearances on "Strictly Come Dancing" and a Channel 4 Documentary, the headline seems to have worked.

From the outset, "Postcards..." is not as abrasive as 2009's "Journal For Plague Lovers", but loses none of what amkes the Manics great. One of the year's finest alternative rock records from start to finish, and hopefully not their last shot overall.

Essential tracks: "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love" "Auto-Intoxication" "A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun"

Watch: "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love"

Songs of 2010

8. The Like - "Release Me"

The long awaited and much delayed follow up to 2005's "Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking" was launched with a 50's retro slice of indie pop, both unexpected and brilliant.

"Release Me" came from nowhere with one of the catchiest choruses of the year, and should have had everyone up dancing. Superb.

Watch: "Release Me (live at Rolling Stone)"